Advanced Concepts and Future Trends in Criminal Intelligence Analysis

            An intelligence unit, along with each of its individual analysts, is one of the most important parts of any law enforcement agency.  It is their expertise that comes into play when difficult situations come up and a solution is needed.  The tools and training that they utilize are far superior to that of any other department.

            It is important to have a secure and properly maintained intelligence unit due to the fact that things are always changing and a good intelligence unit needs to stay on top of new developments and procedures.    By being able to use others’ work and build on it, the unit can “create a critical mass of shared knowledge” (McGue) and the unit will be able to do their jobs in a more proficient manner.   It has been noted that a group of minds is better able to assess and analyze a situation and come up with the correct answers to problems better than an individual mind.  An example of this can be seen by looking at the TV show “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire”.  The collective mind of the audience was able to come up with the correct answers more often than the single mind of the “expert” did.  It is this group mentality that makes an intelligence unit so successful in what they do.

            When preparing to deliver an oral briefing, you will first want a complete analysis of the situation at hand.  Once you have completed this analysis, you will then want to have some sort of recommendations on hand to make as to how to rectify said situation.  Decide what it is you would like to convey to your audience and make an outline of how you should proceed.  The use of visual aids can be very beneficial when doing a briefing, as they allow you to easily disseminate the information provided, allowing others to quickly assimilate it.

            Make sure that your visual aids are well made and help you tell your story.  Syncing your visual aid with your written report will help your audience link the two mediums together and provide a better understanding of the information that you are trying to communicate.  Some people are audio learners and others are visual learners.  By combining the two, you can cover both learning styles and reinforce the learning of the information.

            You may want want to practice your briefing as often as possible before the actual delivery of the speech to your intended audience, as this will allow you to determine the flow of ideas and smooth out any “wrinkles” you may run across in the way you have written it.  It will also allow you to possibly predict possible questions that may be asked and ready some answers to those questions ahead of time.  Finally, you want to deliver your message as responsibly and effectively as possible.   State your purpose for the briefing, follow up with the main information and conclude by summarizing the information and asking if there are any questions.  This will keep your speech organized and easily followed. 

            An oral briefing can be a totally separate animal, in and of itself.  It has its own way of acting… as there are many players involved.  You will be reporting your findings to many people, each of whom have their own way of seeing things.  Getting your message across clearly should be the first and foremost concern.  There are certain guidelines in place to help guide analysts when preparing to deliver a briefing.

Steps to Take When Delivering a Briefing

"Preparing:

What doubts is the listener likely to have? Where will they want details? Where might they challenge us?

During the briefing:

Listen carefully. If you’re unsure about the question, summarize it and check

Listen actively (nod, make eye contact, acknowledge)

Answer the question and move on

Say you don’t know if you don’t know

State that you will gather and provide answers later, if necessary"

 (DeSouza, 2007)

            Delivering a written report is very similar to how the oral briefing is set up.  First you will want to state your purpose, then explain your findings and finally sum it all up by restating your main points.

            Before setting out to purchase any software for use by our unit, we need to ask ourselves "what do we need the software to be able to do in order for this purchase to be beneficial?"    After determining the need, we will need to go to the vender and explain to him what we are looking for.   First and foremost, we know that we will need software that is able to create various databases of pertinent information in an easy to digest format.  Does the software do this?   Can it predict possible behaviors based on this information?  Does it offer visual as well as textual output?  Next, we will need to know about the cost of the software.  Does it fit into our agency's budget?  Do we really need the most expensive and deluxe version to effectively do the job or would we be better off going with a more basic version of the software?

            Once we have the answers to these questions, we can make our decision. 

            Having these tools and training at the disposal of the intelligence unit of any police department makes the job of enforcing the law and protecting the public a much easier job for those men and women in the law enforcement profession.

 

 

 

 

De Souza Briggs, Xavier ,Department of Urban Studies + Planning. 2007. “How to Prepare and Deliver an Effective Briefing”. http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/urban-studies-and-planning/11-914-planning-communication-spring-2007/lecture-notes/xavbriefing.pdf